空空荡荡 (kōng kōng dàng dàng) — (idiom) completely empty and deserted, with a sense of loneliness or desolation

Definition

A vivid four-character adjective (AABB reduplication) for a space that feels empty and desolate — stronger than just 安静, it emphasizes loneliness and abandonment.

idiom
completely empty and deserted, with a sense of loneliness or desolation

Examples

  • ,空空荡荡,。
    Xià bān hòu, zhěng gè bàn gōng shì kōng kōng dàng dàng de, yí gè rén yě méi yǒu.
    After work, the whole office was completely empty, without a single person.
  • ,空空荡荡,。
    Tā zǒu jìn nà jiān lǎo fáng zi, lǐ miàn kōng kōng dàng dàng, zhǐ yǒu yì zhāng pò zhuō zi.
    He walked into that old house; it was deserted inside, with only a broken table.
  • 空空荡荡,。
    Shēn yè de jiē dào kōng kōng dàng dàng, lián lù dēng dōu xiǎn de hěn gū dān.
    The street late at night was empty and desolate, even the streetlights seemed lonely.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

空空empty
空kōngempty空kōngempty
重叠Reduplication
荡荡vast
重叠Reduplication

The 空空 emptiness and 荡荡 vastness together give a deserted, lonely feel.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →

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